Interchangeable turnable heels



United States Patent 3,087,264 ENTERCHANGEABLE TURNABLE HEELS WilliamMcKinley, 1402 Ave. 1, Brooklyn, Filed Mar. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 15, 085

1 Claim. (Ci. Sid-35) This invention is directed at an improved turnableheel and sole construction, for a shoe.

According to the invention there is provided a heel or sole body for ashoe made of rubber, plastic, fiber or composition material. The body isprovided with a cavity for receiving a turnable rubber member adapted tobe secured in place on a shoe by a core or plug having tapered sides. Inone form of the invention, the core itself is adapted to be turned toequalize wear thereon. The outer surfaces of the members constitutingthe sole or heel may be ribbed or corrugated.

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a heel or solebody for a shoe having a cavity adapted to receive an annular ring, thering having an inner tapered wall adapted to abut a mating tapered wallof a circular core whch fits within the ring and holds it on a shoe.

A further object is to provide a sole or heel structure for a shoe, witha turn-able ring adapted to: be rotated as it wears at one point so thata fresh portion may be disposed at the point of greatest wear and impactof the shoe.

Still another object is to provide a sole body with a plurality ofturnable rings and cores having tapered walls.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a shoe with a heelembodying the invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the portion of the shoe of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2., on anenlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the heel ofFIGS. 1-3, parts being omitted.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of another heel construction according tothe invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded side elevational view of the ring and core of theheel of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, there is shown a heel structure 20 including aflat body 22 formed with a partially cylindrical cutout or cavity 24extending through more than 180 circumferentially. Within this cavityand coplanar with the body 22 fits a rubber ring 26. This ring is a flatannular member having an outer cylindrical wall 28 which fits snuglyagainst the curved wall 24 of the heel body. The ring has a central hole30 whose wall 32 flares outwardly from top to bottom of the ring.

A circular core or plug 34 having a corresponding flaring wall 36 fitswithin and abuts wall 32 of the ring. Nails 38 may be driven throughholes 40 preformed in the core for securing the core to the heel base 42of shoe 44. Nails 39 will secure the body 22 to base 42. A screw ice 46may be threaded through the ring and screwed into the shoe base forpreventing the ring from turning during normal wear. This screw can beloosened and the ring can be turned by finger pressure on core 34 sothat when the outer portion of the ring exposed beyond the fingerportions 25 of the heel body is worn, the ring can be turned around toexpose a fresh unworn portion for renewing the life of the heel. A thinmetal foil sheet 23 or a rubber sheet can be inserted between heelstructure 20 and heel base 42, to waterproof the heel. The sheet 23 isformed with a central opening 27, and may be fastened to the ring 26 bycement or the like.

The nails 33 extend through the opening 27 of the sheet 23 so that thecore 34 can be rotated slightly. A screw 29 extends through the centerof the core and into the base 42 and may be set upon to hold the core inadjusted position.

The structure of heel 22 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is similar to that ofstructure 20 except that the ring 26 and core 3:4 have outer ribbed orcorrugated surfaces '33, 35, respectively. Otherwise the ring and corehave the same structure as that of members 26 and 34 and correspondingparts are identically numbered.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

A heel structure for a shoe comprising a flat leather base ofsemicircular shape, a flat rubber body of substantially the same shapehaving one end cut away providing a semicircular cavity therein, meanssecuring the rubber body to the base, a rubber ring member fitted insaid cavity, said ring member having a central aperture, a waterproofmetal foil sheet secured to the inner surface of the ring, said sheethaving a central aperture smaller in diameter than the diameter of thecentral aperture in the ring member, and a separate solid circularrubber core member fitted in the aperture of the ring and seated on themetal sheet, said core member having holes therein, fastening elementsextending through the holes in said core member and through the alignedapertures in the ring and sheet into the base for yieldingly androtatably holding the ring in position, and a screw member extendingcentrally through the core member and through the aligned apertures inthe ring and sheet whereby the core member is secured in adjustedrotated position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,439,758 Redman Dec. 26, 1922 1,444,677 Fischer Feb. 6, 1923 2,500,302Vicente Mar. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 627,066 Great Britain July 27,1949 1,092,165 France Nov. 3, 1954

